An experiment with wild hyenas in Tanzania shows how carnivores can modify the archaeological record
The SCAVENGERS project team, funded by the European Research Council, explores how scavengers may have altered prehistoric human campsites
In June, researchers from the SCAVENGERS project, led by the Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), conducted a scientific expedition to Tanzania to assess whether wild hyenas can significantly alter the remains of prehistoric human campsites. The preliminary results, considered a success by the team, strongly suggest they can.
To investigate this, the team recreated several experimental campsites in caves and rock shelters, replicating the types of spaces once occupied by groups such as the Neanderthals. Meat was cooked over central hearths, bones and stone tools with traces of fat were left behind, and camera traps were installed to record animal behaviour. The findings are conclusive: hyenas interacted intensely with the materials—consuming, displacing, and scattering them—causing severe alterations in both the composition and spatial distribution of the archaeological assemblage.
“This behaviour has far-reaching implications,” says Dr Jordi Rosell, principal investigator of the project. “Many of the assemblages we study in the archaeological record could be incomplete or altered without us even realising it, because hyenas may have acted as silent scavengers. We need to reconsider how we interpret many of our sites.”
The experiments in Tanzania are a key component of the SCAVENGERS project (Carnivores in human settlements: a new and different way to address the Middle Palaeolithic record), which combines fieldwork, taphonomic analysis, and artificial intelligence to develop mathematical models capable of identifying carnivore activity in prehistoric sites. These models aim to detect otherwise invisible patterns of disturbance and allow for more accurate reconstructions of ancient human camp organisation.
While the project focuses on the European Middle Palaeolithic, its results have broad relevance and potential application across different periods and regions. The project’s overarching goal is to provide a new interpretive framework that acknowledges the underestimated role of carnivores in shaping the archaeological record.
SCAVENGERS is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) through an Advanced Grant and is coordinated by IPHES-CERCA and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). The research team brings together experts in archaeology, taphonomy, ecology, and data science. Beyond its direct relevance to prehistory, the knowledge generated could also be valuable in fields such as nature conservation, animal behaviour studies, and natural park management.
More information about the project: www.scavengers.cat